CHESHIRE is about to get its first oil-well - but it will never produce a drop of black gold, and will be abandoned as soon as it opens.

Prospecting for the right location for the novel well is inventor Bob Eden, who is trying to crack one of the biggest headaches for the oil industry - how to safely close down redundant oil wells and protect the environment at the same time.

And Bob, a biologist and corrosion expert, who also teaches hopeful student entrepreneurs at UMIST's Manchester Science Enterprise Centre, hopes that plugging the gap in the market could be a money-spinner for his own company, Rawwater Engineering, of Culcheth.

Abandoned wells are currently plugged with cement, but the technique does not always work satisfactorily.

Rawwater has been developing a method using metals, instead, to make a leak-proof seal.

It harnesses the properties of low-melting point metals which then solidify and lock into place, and the company is also exploring the possibility of uses for the technology in the nuclear industry.

Earlier this year, it received a £45,000 award from the Department of Industry under its SMART award scheme which aims to turn bright business ideas into market products.

Now it has been given a £105,000 boost from oil giant Shell to take the idea forward.

"The company is very interested in the idea, and has put up this money for a nine-month project which involves a complex and vigorous testing procedure," said Bob.

The company says it has proved on a model in the lab that the oil-plug works.

Now it is looking for a site in the area to build a miniature oil-well, to carry out further tests.